Limbo
by Vanessa Gordon
Summary: "Kate?" Tony asked. She smiled at him. "Who else would it be DiNozzo?" Yeah, it was Kate alright.  "Tony whats...Kate!" McGee beamed, scrambling over and embracing her.  Suddenly, his face fell and he released her.  "We're dead."


Tony and McGee pulled up to the house in their car. Tony climbed out of the car, angrily slamming the door behind him.

"_Saturday_, Mcgeek, _this_ is how we get to spend our Saturday evening?" he ranted, starting to walk across the front yard to the house.

"Like you weren't planning on spending your evening watching movies with me and Ziva," McGee pointed out as he followed.

"Still," Tony grumbled. "We're sent to check out some tip about 'suspicious activities' on Saturday! It's probably just some teenagers throwing a party." McGee rolled his eyes. Lucky Ziva had been spared this because she was still writing her report about a man she shot on their last case. So Vance sent him with Tony instead. The two agents reached the door.

"Federal Agents," Tony said, rapping on the door. No response. "Open up or we're coming in!" They heard the sound of running footsteps from inside the door. McGee and Tony exchanged a glance, pulling their guns. McGee took up a position against the door frame, Tony held up three fingers.

Three, two, one. He kicked the door in, McGee swung from his position to the open door frame.

….

Tony felt himself lying on the ground. Someone put their hand on his shoulder.

"Tony, wake up," they said. Tony opened his eyes and sat up immediately. He had thought he would never hear that voice again. But there she was, brown hair loose around her shoulders, eyes lit with humor at his surprise.

"Kate?" he said uncertainly. She smiled at him.

"Who else would it be, DiNozzo?" she asked. Yeah, it was Kate alright. Tony felt his brain whir. _How was Kate here? What had happened? Had he been knocked out in their battle with Ari? Had it all been a dream?_

"You're alive?" he exclaimed. He saw movement on his other side. McGee sat up.

"Tony what's… Kate!" he beamed, scrambling over and embracing her. Suddenly, his face fell and he released her. "We're dead." Tony felt his insides faze. _They were dead? No, that couldn't be right, he'd remember dying. But he had to admit McGee hadn't been on the rooftop with them, so his Ari theory was out._

"Not exactly, Tim," Kate said, smiling sadly. "But close."

….

Leroy Jethro Gibbs burst through the hospital doors. He was intimating at the best of times, but right now he was furious. Spotting Director Vance at the desk, talking to a nurse, he stormed over.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY AGENTS?" he yelled. Vance, unlike most sensible people, wasn't alarmed by Gibbs' anger.

"There was an explosion," he replied calmly without turning around to face him, as though Gibbs had politely asked.

"And what," Gibbs seethed, "We're **my agents** doing at that house?"

"Agent Gibbs," Vance said, turning around to glower at Gibbs. "As director of this agency, I have the right to dispatch any agents to any destination. Agents DiNozzo and McGee were sent to investigate a disturbance at a house of a Marine stationed in Iraq. Had I known at the time that there were explosives within the house, I can assure you I wouldn't have sent them there." Gibbs was about to make another angry retort, but Abby and Ziva arrived, and Abby immediately threw herself into Gibb's arms, sobbing into his shoulder. Ziva looked relieved that the emotional Abby had found someone else to cry on.

"It's okay Abby," he comforted her; unable to stay angry when she needed him. "They're still alive, they're fighting." He pat her on the back, holding her close.

….

"Define not exactly!" Tony yelled. He observed their surroundings. They were sitting on some sort of packed earth. There were fields of grass around them, and the sky above was clear and blue. "Where are we?"

"Calm down DiNozzo," Kate ordered, standing up. McGee followed suit.

"What's going on Kate?" he asked uncertainly, helping Tony up. They turned and faced Kate.

"You aren't dead," she assured them both. "Yet."

….

Gibbs, Abby, Ziva, Ducky, Palmer and Director Vance were all sitting in the waiting room. McGee and Tony were still in surgery. Abby was still crying into Gibbs' shoulder, Vance was pacing, Ziva looked unsure of what to do with herself, and Ducky was telling Palmer every story he could think of involving hospitals to keep their minds preoccupied. A nurse walked out, holding a clipboard.

"Special Agents," she didn't have to finish the sentence, she was already surrounded.

"Are they okay?" Abby blabbered, having finally released Gibbs. "They have to be okay, they're going to be okay, **they're okay**, right?"

"Abby," Ziva calmed her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"They're out of surgery now, but they're still unconscious. We don't know if they'll come out of it or not," the nurse said. Abby immediately started crying again, burying her face in Ziva's shoulder, as she was closest.

"There there Abby," Ziva said awkwardly, never one for large displays of emotion. She reached up and pat her head.

"Can we see them?" Gibbs asked. The nurse nodded, opening the doors.

….

"So we're between life and death?" asked Tony, just to be sure he was hearing this right.

"Yes Tony," Kate told him again. McGee looked around.

"How do we go back?" he asked. Kate smiled sadly again.

"Either you will eventually, or you won't," she told him.

"But we have to go back!" McGee replied immediately. Kate's expression didn't change.

"I hope you will Tim," she said. "Keep up that attitude, it may help."

"So why are you here?" Tony asked. "If we're here because we're somewhere between life and death, then why are you here since you're…"

"Dead?" Kate finished for him. "It's alright Tony; I've come to terms with it." Tony looked at her uncertainly. "I like to keep an eye on you two," she smiled at them. "The dead can come here when they chose, to be closer to those they care for. When you two wound up here, I came to help you through it, after all, I couldn't leave you two here by yourselves, who knows what you'd do to poor McGee!" She laughed, and they were surprised to find themselves laughing along with her.

"It is good to see you Kate," Tony said, hugging her.

"We've missed you," McGee informed her, joining in the hug.

….

Gibbs, Ziva, Ducky, Palmer, Director Vance and Abby were all crowded into a small room, staring at Tony and McGee, lying unconscious on two beds. Abby was still crying, but slightly less pronouncedly. Director Vance turned to Gibbs.

"I need to go brief the team of agents on this—" Gibbs cut him off.

"No, this is our case," he said. Ziva nodded.

"Alright," Vance said, walking out. Ziva and Gibbs turned around again.

"Any change in their conditions and you call us," Gibbs told Ducky.

"Of course I will, Jethro," Ducky said. Palmer nodded. Abby just stared at the bodies, crying.

"We'll get whoever did this, Abby," Ziva assured her. She and Gibbs turned to go.

"If you get forensics, call me," Abby said. They spun around, she still hadn't moved. "I'm going to pin this dirt-bag to the ground."

"Okay Abby," Gibbs said, and they left.

….

"By the way, Tim, I love your books," Kate said. The three were sitting on a park bench, just talking and catching up, as though Kate wasn't dead and they just hadn't seen each other for a while. McGee smiled.

"You do?" he asked happily.

"You **do**?" Tony asked skeptically.

"Yes, they're really good," Kate said. "I particularly love Agent Tommy; you really captured Tony's essence there." She laughed.

"Probie, why don't you give Kate a character," Tony teased back. "The ever obnoxious Agent Samantha."

"Samantha?" Kate asked. "Where'd that one come from?" Tony shrugged.

"Just an idea, McGee can use whatever name he wants," Tony replied.

"I don't know Tony," McGee said. "I think the always obnoxious agent space is filled." Kate laughed again; Tony slapped McGee on the back of the head.

"On second thought you should just start writing books about people who aren't your co-workers," Tony said.

"Too late, I'm already writing a third book," McGee said, smirking.

"You are not," Tony replied.

"You are?" Kate asked excitedly. "Do Tommy and Lisa develop a relationship?" Tony glared at McGee, who looked nervous. "They do! I'm going to have to read this one."

"How do you read them anyway?" Tony snapped, still glaring evilly at McGee.

"I just read it over someone's shoulder. Or watch McGee write it," she replied simply.

"So you're a ghost?" McGee asked.

"Not really. I just come down sometimes to keep an eye on you guys," she said, smiling. "And the books looked like fun, especially when you all had Deep Six at work."

"So you're stalking us from the afterlife?" Tony asked. "That sounds like the plot of some movie…"

"Don't start with the movies," Kate cut him off.

"Thank you!" McGee agreed. "The movies get so annoying!"

"Elf-lord," Tony grumbled. Kate laughed again.

….

Gibbs and Ziva were in the bullpen, staring at the screen. The owner of the house had no idea who would have wanted to blow up their house, and they weren't scheduled to return for another six months, so whoever set the explosive probably wasn't trying to kill him. Abby had gotten all the forensics from the scene and they were waiting for her to give them a lead.

"Let's go back over what we know," Gibbs said. Ziva nodded.

"We received a complaint at 4:20. Tony and McGee were sent to the house at 4:30. The house exploded at 4:42, according to Tony's watch, which was stopped by the explosion," Ziva listed. "From the patterns of the explosion, it would appear the explosives were attached to the door, and went off when they attempted to enter the house." She and Gibbs looked at each other again.

"Question 1: Why would they enter the house?" Gibbs said.

"Question2: Why were there explosives in the house?" Ziva continued.

"Is there any way someone would have known that DiNozzo and McGee were going to be assigned to check this complaint?" Gibbs asked. Ziva shook her head.

"It also seems like a stupid way to attack a federal agency," she threw in. Gibbs nodded.

"So basically we have nothing," he declared irritably.

….

"So how do we get back Kate?" McGee asked again.

"We use the force, Probie-wan-Kenobi," Tony replied sarcastically.

"You'll know when it's time," Kate said again.

"Thanks for the cryptic, unhelpful advice," Tony said.

"Hey, it's the best I can do Tony," she snapped. "I died instantly, so I didn't wind up here; I don't know how it works." Tony's expression softened.

"Sorry Kate," he said immediately. "So how do you 'go down' to watch us?"

"Want me to show you?" she asked, smiling and standing up. McGee and Tony stood on either side. She held out a hand to each of them. "Hold on." She smiled mischievously.

….

Next thing they knew, they were floating over the bullpen. Ziva was at her desk, looking at the backgrounds of all the people in the neighborhood for some sort of lead.

"AHHHHHH," Tony screamed. "We're ghosts!"

"Calm down," Kate said. "And I think the proper term would be spirits, you two aren't dead." She guided them down to the ground, so they were standing normally. McGee and Tony looked around uncertainly.

"So they can't see us?" McGee asked, gesturing to Ziva. Kate shook her head. Tony smirked. He walked over to Ziva's desk, and started waving his hands in front of her while making ghost noises.

"Or hear us," Kate said. "So you just look like an idiot DiNozzo." Tony frowned.

"I'm going to scare you eventually," he told Ziva. Ziva was still staring at the computer screen, completely unaware of their presence.

"Yeah right Tony," McGee said, rolling his eyes. Tony tried to pick up Ziva's stapler, but his hand phased right through it.

"You can't move objects either," Kate informed Tony. Tony frowned again.

"But what about all the spirits in movies, that throw things and stuff?" he asked. Kate and McGee both rolled their eyes.

"Tony, movies aren't always a depiction of real life," McGee said.

"And those are ghosts, they're **dead**," Kate informed him. "You two aren't dead."

"So are you saying that you could prank Ziva for us?" Tony asked excitedly. Kate glared at Tony.

"I'm not going to help you prank your co-workers," she snapped.

"Please?" Tony begged. "It would be really funny to see the great Ziva David freak out! Back me up here, Probie."

"It would be kind of funny," McGee admitted. "But I don't think we should do it."

"Come on!" Tony exclaimed. "This is your one chance to prank Ziva without worrying about her retaliating!" McGee contemplated for a second. "Live a little McGee!"

"You know what," he said, smiling. "I think we should. Just something small."

"Okay," Kate said, smiling. "What do you think we should do?" Tony mimed shoving her off her chair. Both Kate and McGee glared at him.

"Why don't we just throw her stapler?" McGee suggested. Kate nodded, and knocked the stapler off her desk and onto the floor. Ziva jumped, yelping in surprise. Tony started laughing.

"Tony!" she yelled instinctively. This caused McGee and Kate to laugh hysterically as well. Ziva collected herself, bending over and picking up the stapler. She looked at it suspiciously, as though expecting it to try to jump off the desk again.

"Ziva!" Gibbs yelled, hurrying down the stairs from MTAC. Immediately Tony, Kate and McGee stopped laughing, instinctually pretending they hadn't been messing around. Ziva stopped looking at her stapler and stood.

"No one in the neighborhood has any major red flags," she announced as soon as Gibbs came into the bullpen. "Lots of parking tickets, but they've all been paid. A few minor shoplifting charges and one neighbor went for a joyride when they were 19."

"Abby's got something," Gibbs told her, and they both marched off to the elevators. Kate, Tony and McGee continued to stand in the bullpen.

"Why aren't they looking for the person who was in the house?" Tony asked. "They're probably the one who set the bomb!"

"I'll bet they don't know someone was in the house," McGee pointed out. "We've got to tell them." The three looked at each other.

"How are we supposed to do that?" asked Tony.

….

Gibbs and Ziva arrived in Abby's lab. You could immediately tell something was wrong because Abby's usual music was off, and Abby didn't happily greet them the second they entered.

"What'd you got, Abs?" Gibbs asked. Abby turned around.

"I have confirmed that the explosive was rigged to the door," she replied. "But you already knew that. However, I found residue of meth in the wreckage." Abby would have usually let Gibbs guess at what that meant, but she wasn't cheerful enough for it today. "The house that blew up was a meth lab."

"Thanks Abs," Gibbs said, handing her a caff-pow. Abby just placed it forlornly on her desk. "I'll drink it when Tony and McGee get better."

….

"Gibbs!" Tony, McGee and Kate yelled in unison as soon as the elevator doors opened.

"Boss, there was someone in the house!" Tony exclaimed. Gibbs walked out of the elevator, and right through Tony, completely unaware.

"Kate, do something!" McGee begged, while Tony recovered from having Gibbs walk through him.

"Ziva!" Tony yelled, running after her. "Ziva, please listen to me!"

"Ziva, I want a list of all people with previous meth related convictions in the D.C. area!" Gibbs declared, picking up his phone and starting to dial Ducky.

"They won't listen!" Tony complained.

"Duck?" Gibbs asked the phone.

"Tony, they can't hear us, remember?" McGee said, rolling his eyes. Tony raised his eyebrows in confusion, then nodded.

"Right, ghosts, I forgot," Tony admitted. Kate started to correct him, but he cut her off. "Spirits, whatever. But Kate, you can move things, what if you wrote out our message for us!" McGee smiled momentarily, starting towards his desk. He stopped abruptly, causing Tony to slam into him. Apparently they were still plenty solid to each other.

"Won't that just freak them out?" he asked. Kate nodded, frustrated. Tony groaned. "How do you communicate with people normally?"

"Okay Duck, if there's any change, tell me." Gibbs started staring at the screen again.

"What makes you think I talk to people normally Tim?" Kate asked. Tony suddenly smiled.

"I got it!" he exclaimed. "In movies, ghosts whisper in people's ears while they sleep, and they think that they just dreamed up the thought!" McGee and Kate looked at him skeptically. "It works in Scooby Doo!"

"That's just such a great basis for reality," McGee replied sarcastically. Kate regarded him uncertainly.

"I guess we don't have a better idea," she said, walking over to Gibbs.

"But they have to be asleep!" Tony exclaimed.

"You want to knock Gibbs out, Tony?" McGee snapped.

"_What if there was someone else in the house?_" Kate hissed into Gibbs's ear. He didn't reply. "Maybe someone was in the house?" she suggested more loudly. She shot them both an exasperated look. "GIBBS, SOMEONE ELSE WAS IN THE HOUSE!" Gibbs suddenly looked thoughtful. Immediately he picked up the phone again.

"Abby, is there any way to tell if someone was in the house before the explosion?" he said quickly. Abby's excited exclamation could be heard by everyone in the bullpen. Gibbs hung up the phone.

"YES!" yelled Tony excitedly, jumping up and down and high-fiving McGee and Kate. "So, now what do we do?"

"You are so juvenile," Kate told him.

"Aww, you know you love it Kate," Tony replied. McGee rolled his eyes.

"Why don't we just watch the rest of the investigation?" he suggested. Kate smiled.

"That sounds great!" she exclaimed. "I haven't really watched an investigation since Ari!" Tony and McGee exchanged a look.

"Was that actually you we were seeing?" they both asked, looking a little nervous.

"No…" she looked at them skeptically. "What did you two do?"

"Nothing!" they chorused. She scowled. Fortunately for them, Gibbs' phone rang, distracting Kate.

"Who?" Gibbs asked the phone after a few seconds. "Okay, thanks Abs." He hung up the phone and turned to Ziva. "We've got a drug dealer in the house." They both grabbed their gear and hurried out of the building.

….

A nervous, twenty year old kid sat in the interrogation room. Ziva stood behind the glass, accompanied by (though she didn't know it) Tony, Kate and McGee. Gibbs marched into the room.

"Listen, I don't know what it is you think I did, but I swear I didn't do it!" the guy yelled. Gibbs glowered at him.

"Why'd you do it?" he asked softly into the guy's ear. The guy drew away from Gibbs, clearly terrified.

"I didn't do anything!" he repeated. "Now… charge me with something or let me go!" Gibbs walked over and sat across the table from him.

"You want to be charged with something?" he asked. The guy nodded hesitantly. "Alright then." Gibbs opened up his folder. "How about drug dealing, possession of illegal drugs and explosives, breaking and entering, and two counts attempted murder."

"What?" the guy spluttered. "I didn't try to murder anyone, I didn't—" Gibbs got up and walked over to him again.

"NO," Gibbs yelled at him, grabbing him by the collar. "Two of **my **people are in the hospital and I want to know WHY." He shook him, then thrust him back into the chair. "NOW!" Tony smiled at McGee.

"It's good to know boss cares," he whispered. The guy was now nearly shivering with fear.

"Okay, okay," he exclaimed. "Listen, I broke into the house, alright? I was picking up drugs there, to sell." Gibbs sat opposite him again, continuing his glare. The guy gulped and continued. "So there were some guys at the door, right? And then they were saying they were cops or something, so I panicked! I ran away, okay? Please man, that's all I know."

"Who made the drugs?" Gibbs asked.

"Some guy, I didn't really talk to him much." Gibbs started to stand up again. "Wait, wait, wait his name's Feldon. Chris Feldon. I've only met the guy once, he was never there when I was, he just had me come in through a window, get the drugs and leave!"

"You didn't know that the door was rigged to explode?" Gibbs asked again.

"No way man, if I'd know the guy was that crazy, I never would have worked for him," he said. "Please man, I didn't hurt anyone." Gibbs just got up and left. Ziva rushed out of observation to meet him, running strait through Kate.

"I will never get used to that," she grumbled.

….

Ziva and Gibbs were back in the bullpen, where staring at the screen as thought it would somehow suddenly decide it was wrong.

"Chris Feldon died ten years ago," Gibbs seethed.

"It was probably an alias," Ziva said. "It was a wild duck chase."

"Goose chase," corrected Tony and McGee, even though they knew she couldn't hear them.

….

"Gibbs, Gibbs!" Abby was almost back to her usual excited self. "Chris Feldon was absolutely in the house! I matched his fingerprints to those from the crime scene!"

"Chris Feldon's dead Abby," Ziva informed her. Abby spun and pointed a finger at Ziva.

"That, Ziva, is where you are wrong," she said excitedly, bringing up a file on her computer. "This is Marco Kent's arrest record when he went for a joyride twelve years ago."

"And we care about some kid joyriding because?" Gibbs prompted her.

"Because this is the photograph from the arrest record," a photo appeared on the screen. "And this is his current driver's license photo!" Another photo appeared, of a different person. "And **this**," a third photo appeared. "Is a photo of Chris Feldon." Abby turned excitedly to Gibbs and Ziva. "Feldon **is **Kent!"

"Great work Abs," Gibbs said, rushing out the door with Ziva.

"I want him bleeding when you bring him in!" Abby yelled after them.

….

Gibbs and Ziva pulled up in front of Kent's house. He was doing lawn work.

"Chris Feldon?" Gibbs asked, getting out of the car. He looked up, saw them and took off running. Gibbs and Ziva sprinted after him.

"Go Gibbs and Ziva!" cheered Tony.

"You make it sound like we're at a sporting event," Kate said exasperatedly.

Feldon raced around the hedge, Ziva hot on his heels, right to where Gibbs stood waiting. Gibbs socked him in the face, and he fell, clutching his nose. He got up slowly, blood seeping through his fingers.

"You broke my nose!" he exclaimed. "That's police brutality!"

"You're lucky we didn't just shoot you," Gibbs snarled as Ziva cuffed him. Kate smiled at McGee and Tony. Suddenly McGee doubled over, and started flickering like a bad projection.

"McGee?" Tony asked in concern, grabbing his shoulder and holding him up. Kate rushed over and grabbed them both. "Kate, what's going on?"

"Hang on," she told them both.

….

Kate and McGee appeared in the hospital, outside McGee and Tony's room. McGee was still flickering, but he was able to support himself now.

"What's going on?" he asked Kate, looking worriedly at his body lying on the hospital bed. Kate just smiled at him.

"You're going back Tim," she replied. "You're spirit's returning to your body." McGee smiled, and Kate gave him a hug.

"It was good to see you Kate," he told her.

"You too Tim," she replied, releasing him. "Stay safe now, I don't want to see you again for several more years." McGee laughed.

"I'll do my best," he replied.

"Bye," Kate said, and McGee disappeared. Kate smiled and disappeared again.

….

"HELP! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?" Tony screamed. One second he'd been making sure McGee was alright, and now he suddenly found himself back in the giant field all by himself. "PROBIE? KATE? SOMEBODY?" Kate appeared behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. "AHHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed, jumping several inches off the ground, and spinning around.

"Kate, what the hell?" he asked. "You scared the crap out of me." Kate just laughed.

"I scared you?" she smiled. "You spend your time chasing criminals with a gun, and I scared you?"

"Yeah you did, what's wrong with…" Tony stopped himself. "Where's McGee?"

"He's getting better," she replied. When Tony just looked confused, she elaborated, "His spirit returned to his body."

"Oh," Tony nodded. "So, what's that mean for me?"

"You'll probably leave soon too," Kate told him. Tony frowned slightly.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes you do Tony!" Kate replied.

"Why?"

"Because it's not your time, think of Gibbs and McGee and Abby and Ducky! What would they do if you died?" Kate exclaimed. Tony looked skeptical. "They all need you, DiNozzo. Heck, I'd even say Palmer would be horribly depressed if you died."

"Palmer?" Tony laughed. Kate scowled.

"You should know how much it hurts when someone dies," she seethed.

"Well, yeah," Tony said uncomfortably. "And maybe I don't want to go through it again!" Kate's expression softened. "I really missed you Kate."

"Tony, I missed you too," she said, hugging him. "But you can't give up your life for me."

"Yeah, I know," he admitted, resting his head on her shoulder. "I can wish though." He started to flicker.

"Bye Tony."

"Bye Kate." Tony vanished.

….

McGee found himself lying on something soft. He ached everywhere. He shifted his weight slightly, causing himself to grunt with pain. Immediately he felt someone grab his hand.

"Abby?" he muttered, opening his eyes. She beamed.

"MCGEE!" she exclaimed, throwing herself onto him and hugging him. She pulled back, looking at him apprehensively. "Are you alright?" McGee managed to push himself up into a sitting position.

"Yeah Abby, I'm fine just a little… mumph" Abby cut him off by planting her lips on his. McGee was confused for a second, then closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her.

….

Tony once more found himself lying down. "Great," he muttered, opening his eyes and staring at the white ceiling. He looked across the room and saw McGee and Abby, kissing passionately.

"Ewwww," he said, making a face. "Not again!" They broke apart, both blushing and smiling at each other. Then Abby seemed to realize that he was awake.

"Tony!" Abby exclaimed, running over and hugging him. Once she released him, she went back over to sit with McGee, leaning into his shoulder. "Gibbs and Ziva are out catching the scumbag who caused the explosion," she assured them. "It was some idiot trying to make drugs." Tony and McGee exchanged a quick glance, agreeing that they wouldn't tell anyone what had happened.

"Thanks Abby," they both said. Ducky came charging in Palmer right behind them.

"Hello gentlemen," he said, beaming at them. Palmer smiled and waved. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good Ducky," Tony replied. McGee nodded.

"You guys have been in a comma for a day," Palmer informed them.

"Thanks Palmer," Tony replied. Abby suddenly looked over her shoulder.

"What's wrong Abby?" McGee asked. Abby looked uncertainly at a spot right by the door.

"Nothing," she replied, turning back to the rest of them. Gibbs and Ziva rushed in.

"Boss!" they exclaimed. Gibbs smiled at both of them.

"Tony," Ziva asked. "You didn't happen to rig my stapler to jump off my desk, did you?" Tony couldn't help but smirk, and exchanged another glance with McGee.

"I can honestly swear that it wasn't me," he said. Ziva clearly picked up on his smirk, because she shot him a glare.

"Well the thing flew off the desk and hit Feldon in the stomach when we brought him in," Gibbs said, smiling at the memory. Abby turned towards the door again, this time with Tony and McGee.

"What is it?" Gibbs asked, following their gaze. Abby, McGee and Tony smiled: Kate was standing by the door, laughing.

"I think we've just got some spirits pulling for us out there," Tony said, still smiling at Kate. She waved at her friends, then disappeared.

"Spirits?" Ziva asked skeptically. Tony turned to Ziva.

"Yes Ziva, spirits," he said seriously. Ziva frowned at him. "What's the matter with you Ziva? Afraid of ghosts?"

"No I'm not!" she exclaimed, much too quickly.

"Aha!" Tony exclaimed. "Whooooo, the ghost's after you!" Tony waved his fingers at her, before bursting out laughing. Ziva frowned at him.

"TONY!" she yelled. Gibbs, Ducky and Palmer smiled as the two squabbled, Abby and McGee joined in Tony's laughter, leaning against each other.


End file.
